Green Business as a Sustainable Career for Women Entrepreneurs in IndiaAn Opinion Survey

Article excerpt

Abstract

The growing commitment to sustainable principles has increased the demand for new green products and services. Businesses and consumers are looking for better ways to reduce waste, minimize our impact on the environment and leave a cleaner, greener world for our children and grandchildren. The growing emphasis on protecting the environment translates into opportunities for entrepreneurs - women with ideas, energy and smart strategies to start and operate their own green businesses and organizations.

Being a green business, owner can offer meaningful employment that is economically rewarding, socially responsible and environmentally beneficial. At the same time, it can help women looking to balance their family lives with their professional ambitions. The green economy offers women a win-win situation, to engage their values and achieve financial success. Therefore the present study is focusing on identifying the opportunities for women entrepreneurs in green business and also researcher made an effort to analyze their perception regarding opportunities in the same.

Keywords: Sustainable Principle, Green Business, Women Entrepreneurs.

Introduction

Conceptual Framework: Defining green entrepreneurship is a difficult task. The concept itself is relatively recent and has been receiving growing attention since the 1990s. The interest in green entrepreneurship is not only reflected in the growing literature on the topic but also in the proliferation of terms used to identify the concept itself. Among the terms available to describe green entrepreneurship, the following are the most commonly used: eco-entrepreneurship, 'ecopreneurship', environmental entrepreneurship, sustainable entrepreneurship, ecological entrepreneurship, 'enviro-preneurship' or 'sustainopreneurship'. How can these concepts be operationalised? What activities could be included in the "green" part of entrepreneurship? What are the main characteristics of green entrepreneurs? The literature has not provided clearcut answers to these questions. A green entrepreneur can be either making her business "green" or simply entering a "green business".

In other words, green entrepreneurship could be defined in terms of the technology used for production in any sector of the economy, or in terms of the sectors firms are active in, in which case our attention is restricted to parts of the economy producing specific types of output. The former is sometimes referred to as a process approach in defining green business, while the latter as an output approach. Authors tend to add complexity to those definitions by often incorporating ethical, social, or environmental motivations in definitions of green entrepreneurial activity.

How Green Entrepreneurship is Different: There are some aspects of being a green entrepreneur that are different from entrepreneurship in other areas. One key difference is that customers might need to be educated about the green product or service before they are willing to buy. Customers often do not understand the benefits of a green product over a traditional one. So, investing time up front with customers is essential to getting sales. In addition, because green products can be more costly than non-green ones, a green entrepreneur needs to think carefully about how to convince customers that the extra cost is worthwhile for them.

Another major difference is the speed at which green technology is changing. As a green business owner, you will need to stay on top of new information and industry developments to be sure that you can be competitive in the market. Continually educate yourself by reading, going to conferences, taking classes and participating in relevant organizations. Sustainability is another consideration for the green entrepreneur. As part of your business plan, consider how you will distribute your product or service in a sustainable way. You might be able to move your product only so far from its origins without having big environmental or financial costs. …